I'm getting a laptop, and I'm too stupid to tell if the one I like is any good

[Subotan]

I will need a laptop when I go away to university next year, in order to do work, but I still want to be able to play most games whilst at university. Although this might sound like I'm trying to square a circle, I have recently come into some money which I want to use to purchase a gaming laptop. Now when I say "gaming laptop", I don't mean a mighty colossus of a desktop that has a touchpad, but weight isn't a huge problem for me. Likewise, looks are nearly irrelevant, and I'd probably prefer something that isn't really flashy.
After quite some time trawling around on the internet, I came across these
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/l...x70ca15.6.html

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

NOTE:These are both from the pro version
Processor
Description
Intel Core i7 Mobile 720 1.6Ghz
Architecture Features
Intel 64 Architecture
Cache
6Mb
Clockspeed
1.6GHz
Manufacturer
Intel
Supports Virtualisation
Yes
No. of Cores
4
Memory
Description
2 x 2Gb 240Pin DDR3 1066Mhz
Speed
1066Mhz
Harddrives
Description
500Gb 2.5" 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Interface
SATA
Optical Drives
Description
Blu Ray Combo Drive
Formats
4.8x BD-R, 6x DVD-R, 6x DVD+R, 6x DVD-R DL, 6x DVD+R DL, 8x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 5x DVD-RAM
Interface
SATA
Graphics
Description
GTX 280 Graphics
Laptop Chassis
Dimensions
374(W) x 263.5(D) x 42(H) mm
E-SATA
1x eSATA port
Firewire
1x IEEE 1394a port
Memory Capacity
4GB
Memory Slots
Two 204 Pin SODIMM sockets
LAN
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
OS Compliance
Microsoft Windows 7 32Bit & 64Bit, Microsoft Windows Vista 32Bit & 64Bit
Sound
High Definition Audio
Speakers
Built-in 2 speakers
TV Out
1x DVI-I output port
1x HDMII output port
USB
4x USB 2.0 ports
Webcam
2.0 Mega Pixel
Weight
3.3kg with ODD and battery
Screen
15.6" FHD (1920x1080)

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/l...x80ca17.3.html

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Processor
Description
Intel Core i7 Mobile 820 1.73Ghz
Architecture Features
Intel 64 Architecture
Cache
8Mb
Clockspeed
1.73Ghz
Manufacturer
Intel
Supports Virtualisation
Yes
No. of Cores
4
Memory
Description
2 x 2Gb 240Pin DDR3 1066Mhz
Speed
1066Mhz
Harddrives
Description
500Gb 2.5" 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Interface
SATA
Optical Drives
Description
Blu Ray Combo Drive
Formats
4.8x BD-R, 6x DVD-R, 6x DVD+R, 6x DVD-R DL, 6x DVD+R DL, 8x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 5x DVD-RAM
Interface
SATA
Graphics
Description
Nvidia GTX280 Graphics
Laptop Chassis
Audio In
1x microphone jack (external 5.1CH audio output supported)
Audio Out
1x headphone jack (external 5.1CH audio output supported
Dimensions
412(W) x 279(D) x 39~48(H)mm
Memory Capacity
Expandable memory up to 4GB, depends on 1GB/2GB SODIMM Module
Memory Slots
Two 204Pin SODIMM sockets, support for DDR3 1333MHz
LAN
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
OS Compliance
Microsoft Windows 7 32Bit & 64Bit, Microsoft Windows Vista 32Bit & 64Bit
PCMCIA / Cardbus
One ExpressCard /54(/34) slot
Two MiniCard slots (1st for WLAN module with PCIe interface , 2nd for TV Tuner with USB interface)
Sound
High Definition audio interface - 3D stereo enhanced sound system
Speakers
Built-in four speakers - Built-in Sub-woofer
TV Out
1x HDMI output port
1x DVI-I output jack
USB
4x USB 2.0 port
Webcam
2.0M pixels Video Camera with USB interface
Weight
4kg with ODD and battery
Screen
17.3" FHD (1920x1080)

I'm torn between the two, as they both have had good reviews by other sites. A requirement to play EB II comfortably is essential. As mentioned before, money is not a huge issue, but I'd still like to get good value for money. So what does the .Org think?

[Fragony]

Get the new macbook, put windows7 on, and it eats Crysis for breakfast

http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html

[Lemur]

The graphics card is prolly going to be the deciding factor. According to this site, the GTX 280M (for mobile) is roughly equivalent to a desktop 8800 GTS, which should handle EB and RTW easily.

Nice thing about the two laptops you specced out is that they have 15" screens and good video cards. Most laptops that have high-end video cards sport 17" screens, which is a bit much for a mobile card. You should probably be able to play just about any AAA title for a while with that rig.

-edit-

By way of comparison, the current iteration of the Macbook Pro only sports a 9600M videocard, which is a steep step down. As nice as Apple laptops are, I wouldn't recommend it over the Novatch you linked.

[Subotan]

Get the new macbook, put windows7 on, and it eats Crysis for breakfast

http://www.apple.com/macbook/

NEVER

The graphics card is prolly going to be the deciding factor. According to this site, the GTX 280M (for mobile) is roughly equivalent to a desktop 8800 GTS, which should handle EB and RTW easily.
.

Cool. Generally, I'm semi-knowledgeable about hardware; it's just graphics cards that let me down. And what about MTWII (Not that I'd play Vanilla, of course)?

Nice thing about the two laptops you specced out is that they have 15" screens and good video cards. Most laptops that have high-end video cards sport 17" screens, which is a bit much for a mobile card. You should probably be able to play just about any AAA title for a while with that rig.

Why's that?

By way of comparison, the current iteration of the Macbook Pro only sports a 9600M videocard, which is a steep step down. As nice as Apple laptops are, I wouldn't recommend it over the Novatch you linked.

Hehe, my prejudice is now justified.

If you were to pick one of the two, which would it be?

[Fragony]

If you need it to be a working machine as well, well. Good laptop needs good battery as well I get almost 10 hours with light usage, so far it runs everything just fine and I'll take this 13 inch screen over any 19 any day it's fantastic. I am really pleased with the new macbook and it's priced pretty competively.

[Lemur]

And what about MTWII (Not that I'd play Vanilla, of course)?

Any machine that can handle RTW should be able to handle MTW2 as well. Just don't ask me about the original MTW; apparently there are unsolved driver issues with modern video cards. Haven't tried it meself, but I hear it's quite the problem.

Why's that?

Bigger screen = more pixels to push around. The more pixels, the more work for the graphics card. Big screens plus mobile graphics cards usually equals teh suck.

As for which machine I'd recommend, obviously I'd go with the fifteen inch version, with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit preinstalled. Shame you can't opt out of the Blu-ray drive, but then you can't have everything.

[pevergreen]

As for which machine I'd recommend, obviously I'd go with the fifteen inch version, with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit preinstalled. Shame you can't opt out of the Blu-ray drive, but then you can't have everything.

This.

[Lemur]

If you were to pick one of the two, which would it be?

Just to clarify, I'd pick the 15" model with the 280M graphics card, this one, were I buying for myself.

Well, to be honest, if I were buying for myself I'd wait and see what the Jan 27th refresh of the Macbook Pro line brought, then I'd take the plunge. Apple makes a nice, nice laptop, and the ability to boot seamlessly into OS X and Windows would be very nice. Plus, Apple and Intel have some sort of mutual beard-soaping thing where Apple gets the newest mobile chips first, so some sort of really hot-to-trot i5 mobile is prolly going to show up real soon.

[pevergreen]

Just to clarify, I'd pick the 15" model with the 280M graphics card, this one, were I buying for myself.

Well, to be honest, if I were buying for myself I'd wait and see what the Jan 27th refresh of the Macbook Pro line brought, then I'd take the plunge. Apple makes a nice, nice laptop, and the ability to boot seamlessly into OS X and Windows would be very nice. Plus, Apple and Intel have some sort of mutual beard-soaping thing where Apple gets the newest mobile chips first, so some sort of really hot-to-trot i5 mobile is prolly going to show up real soon.

See, you say all this nice stuff, then you go ruin it by suggesting Mac.


Why can't you be consistant!

[Subotan]

Just to clarify, I'd pick the 15" model with the 280M graphics card, this one, were I buying for myself.

Cool

Well, to be honest, if I were buying for myself I'd wait and see what the Jan 27th refresh of the Macbook Pro line brought, then I'd take the plunge. Apple makes a nice, nice laptop, and the ability to boot seamlessly into OS X and Windows would be very nice. Plus, Apple and Intel have some sort of mutual beard-soaping thing where Apple gets the newest mobile chips first, so some sort of really hot-to-trot i5 mobile is prolly going to show up real soon.

I could never bring myself to be a Mac user, so that's out of the question.

[Fragony]

I could never bring myself to be a Mac user, so that's out of the question.

Why is that, it runs windows much better and you have a much better looking/feeling (yes feeling I love that keyboard and touchpad) machine to run it on. The latest line are also equipped with a solid graphical card have yet to see a hick-up. Awesome gaming machine means poor working machine, if you also want to use it for university I would get a good desktop and get a cheap wordpad for your notes.

[Fragony]

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